Roy's Vindication
by Jesuslovesmarina
Summary: 3-shot, Samandra Watson threatens to rip the bandage off of secrets Roy gave everything to help Oliver keep. He's not about to let her take Team Arrow down without a fight. That, and maybe he still hasn't given up on Thea just yet...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Spoilers: Roy is coming back. *squee!* I give you this three-parter based on my take of it XD**

 **Hope everyone enjoys! And be sure to tell me what you thought of it in a REVIEW! ^-^**

 **Roy's Vindication: Chapter 1**

Rene wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings when he came back into his apartment on Thursday night. He'd stepped out to take a call from Curtis and didn't want Zoey to overhear—even though she was probably asleep by now. He hoped.

He'd ended up talking to Curtis for, like, forty minutes. The guy didn't know when, or how, to shut up—and as much as he would never admit it, being off the team made Rene _almost_ miss his teammate's constant chatter.

Almost.

Curtis had kindly refrained from mentioning the upcoming trial. Rene still didn't know what he was going to do. Sure, it made him uneasy to testify against Oliver—but it also made him uneasy to lie to an FBI agent and undoubtedly lose his daughter because of it.

'Uneasy' probably wasn't the best word for it, he amended, closing and locking the front door firmly behind him.

As he flipped the light switch, an unexplainable feeling made the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up. He froze, feeling for the pistol in the back of his jeans before whirling around to face the stranger.

"Don't shoot!" a man sitting on the edge of his couch threw a hand up in defense.

"Why the hell not?!" Rene spat out, removing the safety as his mind whirled with the details of the situation. He fought the instinct to glance toward Zoey's bedroom door. If that man moved one step closer… "You break into my house, with all the doors and windows locked tight—I was out there for five minutes!"

"Little longer than five minutes," the man on the couch remarked with a trace of humor in his voice.

That set Rene even more on edge. If his unwanted guest wasn't at all flustered with a pistol trained on his heart, then who knew what the guy was capable of. He fumbled with his phone in his pocket, meaning to call the team's emergency number. Even if he wasn't part of them anymore, he knew not even Oliver would stand down if Zoey was in danger.

"Wait, don't call Oliver!" the man interjected, seeing what he was doing.

"Why on Earth would I call the mayor at a time like this? I'm calling the cops, Hoss," Rene lied through clenched teeth.

"Really?" the man calmly arched an eyebrow. "I thought you were going to testify about the Green Arrow. Sure that's not who you're about to call?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Rene snapped, putting the phone to his ear. "And if you're one of the good guys, why'd you sneak in here instead of just talking to me outside, huh?"

"Maybe I'm a good guy who'd rather stay under the radar. Say, like Wild Dog?"

Rene froze before dialing the emergency number.

"That is you, right?" the man questioned him easily. He shifted on the couch, grasping his wrist in one hand. Rene's brows furrowed when he saw the man's other hand was entirely missing, a strip of cloth neatly wrapped around the stump. "I mean, I couldn't Dinah or Curtis picking that name, so I made kind of a leap."

Rene just stared. He couldn't imagine how someone he'd never laid eyes on could know so much about them—unless he was FBI, and he doubted federal agents made a habit of wearing flannel and mud-spattered jeans. Unless—and it was unthinkable, but Mr. Queen had certainly done the unthinkable before—"Did _Oliver_ tell you all this?"

The man stared at him for a long moment, his expression thoughtful as though he were trying to determine why Rene would ask a question like that. "No," he replied softly, after a pause.

Rene struggled to hide his frustration. "What do you want, man?"

"Hey, I'm not here to hurt you or your daughter. But if you're going to call anyone, call Thea. Not Oliver."

Rene tensed, realizing what he was saying. Not only did he know Oliver's identity, he also knew about Zoey and he knew Thea. His finger hovered over the 'call' button. "Thirty seconds to explain who you are," he nodded curtly. "And don't move a muscle. I call 'em back if you don't do the first. I shoot if you don't do the second."

"Fair enough. I'm like you," the man started, leaning forward a little. "I heard about the Arrow a couple years back and I wanted to do something. Oliver didn't want to train me so I went out on the streets myself. Eventually, though, I started getting into so much trouble he didn't have a choice but to take me on."

"Wait." Rene didn't lower the gun yet, but he did lower the phone. "You're the guy he _shot_?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Is that really all he says about me?"

"Show me where he shot you."

"Can't," the man shrugged. "Mira-kuru healed it right up."

"Didn't seem to heal that," he nodded toward his guest's missing hand.

A smile crossed the man's face. "They didn't tell you very much at all, did they?"

"I'm sorry," Rene bit out with as much sarcasm as he could muster, "What was your name again?"

"Roy Harper."

Right. Okay. Suddenly this all made sense.

"Damn," Rene shook his head, finally lowering his weapon. "And here I assumed you were dead."

…

"Roy!" Thea burst in through Rene's door, not even bothering to say 'hello' as she ran right to the couch and flung herself in the guy's arms.

"Not exactly how I hoped your first visit to my apartment would go," Rene muttered to himself, watching the two of them with eyebrows raised.

And here he thought he'd been making some progress. _Guess not._

He shut the door and left the two of them as he went to check on Zoey. There was no way she'd actually slept through all that—not after the things that had happened to her before.

"Hey, sunshine," he whispered, stepping through the door and closing it behind him.

"What's going on out there, Dad?" she whimpered, sitting on the floor next to her bed with her blanket covering her head and shoulders.

He held out his arms, and she jumped up and ran to him. "There's a strange man that came to visit, but I'm pretty sure he's just somebody from work, okay?" He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair.

"Can you stay here with me?" she begged him pleadingly.

He didn't want to say no, but he knew he had no choice. "I don't think I can, sweetheart," he apologized. "I'm sorry. I'll come back in when I can, alright? You've got to try to sleep. Still got school tomorrow."

…

"I can't believe you're here," Thea's hands were trembling as she ran them along the sides of Roy's unshaven face, stroking his hair and looking him up and down to reassure herself he was really in front of her. "I thought I'd never see you again."

She caught sight of the cloth around his wrist and stared in shock, tenderly taking it in hand.

"The only thing keeping me away is knowing how hard it'll be to leave again," Roy swallowed hard, smiling as he took in the sight of her again.

Tears were shining in both of her eyes, and she let go of the stump of his missing hand. "You gave up everything to clear Oliver's name and now he's back in court again. Don't tell me that's the reason you're here." she frowned deeply.

He hugged her tightly, inhaling deeply as he hid his face for a moment in her neck. "You know I have to," he whispered.

When they finally pulled away, she stared at him in shock. "You know Oliver will never let you sacrifice yourself for him twice," Thea insisted. "I—I can't, let you do that, Roy! Once you reveal that you faked your own death, they'll double or triple your security. Or worse!" The voice of a lawyer proposing capital punishment for her mother still rung like a gong in her head. "Diggle and Felicity barely managed to get you out last time!"

"Oliver broke Diggle out of a military prison," Roy insisted in hushed tones. "Felicity told me about it afterward. Thea, I really think we can pull this off!"

"He did WHAT now?" Rene exclaimed, emerging from his daughter's bedroom. "Please tell me there's something—anything—Oliver cannot do? So I can feel better about myself?"

"Use a computer," Roy answered, right as Thea piped up with, "Trust more than three people."

"Well, I coulda told you both of those things," he huffed, heading toward the kitchen. "Water? Beer? Grapefruit juice? And for the record, if you two were thinking about having sex on my couch, that is NOT okay."

"Would a quiet conversation be too much amiss?" Thea smiled teasingly.

"Hey, shorty, he DID come to my house, not yours," Rene sassed in reply, still a little miffed that the 'him' she'd talked about before had chosen HIS house specifically to make his grand entrance into Star City.

"You're the one who's planning to turn Oliver in!" she exclaimed.

"I feel like you were a lot nicer to me before HE showed up," Rene grabbed a few water bottles and deposited them on the coffee table, nodding toward Roy.

"Not THAT much nicer," she corrected firmly, leaning her head on the shoulder of the man beside her.

Rene stopped and looked at the two of them. Roy must've been gone the entire time he'd been training with Oliver; maybe longer. He tried to remember when he'd heard about the trial in the news. That was years ago. Thea had been in a coma for months and still the couple had been separated.

He wasn't the kind to care what other people thought of him. Still, though, seeing what they had sacrificed wakened a sick sense of guilt inside him.

On top of what he'd already been dealing with.

"Look," he sat on the coffee table in front of them, "I'm sorry I said I'd give up Oliver to the FBI. I know you two put gave up a lot to save him last time, and I don't mean to destroy all that. But—" he turned to Roy. "I JUST got my daughter back, man! I've worked so hard for that, too. She's the one thing I could never give up. Not for anyone."

"Well," he answered slowly, rubbing Thea's hand with his thumb as he seemed to ponder his answer, "I guess it's a good thing I'm not asking you to."

…

 _The night before…_

The sound of her phone case sliding off the edge of her bathroom counter put Agent Samandra Watson's every sense on high alert.

She internally swore, clutching her bath towel more closely to her chest and turning to face the intruder she knew would be here.

A masked figure stood before her, phone in hand, his costume just the same as it was in a hundred photos she'd spent months examining for every minute detail.

There was nothing out of place. There was no way to tell if the man before her was the true Green Arrow—or an imposter.

She, frankly, didn't care. She would deal with him as she had before during his—uncalled-for—visits.

"I have this room bugged and guards waiting outside," she thrust her chin outward with confidence. "You're not changing up your tactics. All I have to do is scream."

The gloved hand turned over, dropping from his fisted hand several small electronics, which looked as though they'd been crushed by a boot. "Your guards are unconscious," the Green Arrow informed her coolly. "Scream all you want."

"You're not going to frighten me, Mr. Queen," she straightened to her full height. "And if you're a decoy, you can tell Oliver Queen, from me, that personal manipulation of his prosecutor is hardly going to help his case right now."

"Oliver Queen is not the Green Arrow," the man across from her growled through his vocal scrambler. "He's a good man, a little softhearted, and has no earthly idea how to keep himself out of trouble. I have a tech assistant—" here he paused briefly, "— _had_ a tech assistant—who got a little over-enthusiastic helping me protect my identity. That's who framed Oliver Queen. That's where all these rumors got their start. And as rumors do, they grew and have continued to pop up everywhere I go."

"This 'tech assistant' of yours sounds an awful lot like Felicity Smoak to me," Watson replied, unimpressed.

"Felicity Smoak has a background in technology, but she's hardly a parallel of my former assistant. If I had someone that smart to handle my operations, I wouldn't be here, trying to clear Oliver Queen's name yet again."

Agent Watson turned her head slightly, pursing her lips. "How is feeding me truckloads of presumably false information supposed to change my mind on the subject?"

"I'm helping you," the voice grew lower. "You've left me no choice but to help you. Tell me, because I really don't get this at all—out of all the criminals, lowlifes, and even other vigilantes you could be spending your career trying to put behind bars, why go after someone who's actually trying to help? I know I'm not perfect. I've done things I'm not proud of. But why risk the safety of this entire city by trying to put either the only man stupidly brave enough to be its Mayor or someone like myself, who is on the streets every night, saving lives where I can, just for the satisfaction of knowing you cracked a case nobody else could?"

She stared at him in mock surprise. "You think I'm doing this because it's hard? Because I love accomplishing something nobody else could? You're wrong there, Sir. I'm doing this because, unlike you, I don't just think about the here and now when it comes to the safety of this country. Vigilantism has already spread to many others, far more dangerous than yourself, and is occurring all across the nation in almost every major city. Everyone wants to be a hero and they want to do it their way, no matter what the consequences. Whether or not you are the more problematic criminal is not the issue, Mr. Queen," she smiled humorlessly, shaking her head. "YOU were the one who started this whole movement. I aim to stop it before it spreads any further. You're an intelligent man, and I honestly believe you want what's best for the city—at least, in your mind. But you would do well to reconsider the consequences of your actions, and submit to the authority of those who have a far bigger picture in mind than you do."

"Look," the vigilante shifted his weight, extending a hand. "I understand you're not going to change your mind. I won't visit you anymore after this. But let me get this straight before I leave: all that matters to you is that you have the real Green Arrow, so vigilantes are off the streets for good?"

"I'd feel better if I had both him and whoever-you-are behind his costume locked up in the same cell," she replied.

"I can't let that happen," was the immediate reply. "Oliver Queen is like family to me. He didn't ask to be part of this. He didn't know I was the Arrow until I gave myself up last time. And this time, he doesn't even know I'm still alive."

The figure in green first lifted his hands to his hood, pushing back the leather, then moved to his mask, carefully peeling it away to reveal a face Agent Watson had come across dozens of times during her research. "Roy Harper." A small, almost impressed-looking grin slid its way onto her face. "Mr. Queen certainly does look out for his friends. Were the accommodations at Iron Heights not good enough for you?"

"Oh, I'm not giving myself up." Roy shook his head, a dark frown on his unshaven face. "You want the real me? You're going to have to do three things." He counted on his fingers in front of her. "You release Oliver Queen, you clear him and any surrounding suspects of all charges, and you issue a formal apology to him, his friends, his cabinet, and his family. If you do all those things, I will turn myself in to you just like I did last time."

"Why should I believe a criminal like you?" Agent Watson shook her head, smirking at such a ludicrous offer.

"Well, first, I'll give you a freebie, and then I'll explain why." Harper almost winced, pulling from his jacket a file, which he offered to her, and when she made no move to accept, placed on her countertop. "This is all I have on my former associate—my tech guy," he explained. "His name is Cayden James. I helped to break him out of an ARGUS prison last year. _That_ was a huge mistake. He's back in Star City now, making every effort he can to destroy the city from the inside out. I've been working to stop him, but if you really have no need for vigilantes, I'd be thrilled if you put some of your own efforts into putting him back behind bars."

Roy could almost see the gears in Agent Watson's head ticking, as she struggled to keep up with the sudden influx of information.

 _ARGUS?!_ I _barely know anything about ARGUS—how did a_ vigilante _find out information like that, let alone break someone out of their prisons?!_

She quickly regained her composure, however, and moved the conversation forward. "And what was your reasoning again? As to why I should believe that AFTER I've let every one of my prime suspects go, along with taking pains to ensure I can't come after them again, you'll waltz into my office and give up the hood?"

"You can't," Harper replied bluntly. "But whether you believe me or not, you can be sure you'll accomplish nothing by imprisoning Oliver Queen. Because no matter what happens to him, I'll still be out there on the streets, doing the same thing I've always done. If you truly care about putting vigilantes behind bars, my offer is the best you're going to get."

As she was thinking about it, Roy pulled out her phone, stuck a microchip into it that, ironically, Noah Kuttler had made for him (since he knew Roy's identity, the two had undergone a few additional spats where Noah tried to blackmail him and Roy tried to evade him. Eventually they had become tentative allies), and nodded in satisfaction as it immediately unlocked her heavy-duty security. "Ironically, Cayden James is trying to take down the Internet and the guy who made me this tried to do the same thing once. But you didn't hear about that," He gave Agent Watson a significant look, "because I _stopped_ him." He pulled up the camera, made a show of straightening his hair, and took a dazzling selfie before grabbing his chip and tossing it back to her.

Watson caught it, an impressive feat since she was still holding up her bath towel with one hand.

"So you get two freebies," Roy shrugged, pulling on his mask and hood and heading out the door.

Agent Watson stood gaping at him as he waltzed away like nothing had happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Roy's Vindication: Chapter 2**

…

 _After leaving Rene's, the following evening…_

Rain poured down in sheets as Thea and Roy ran from her car to the entrance to her apartment complex. "Oh, wait, I forgot to lock it!" she ran back out, but her keys couldn't reach from the parking lot.

"I forgot how cold it was in Star City!" Roy grabbed her from behind before they ran back a second time, pulling her feet up off the ground in a tight embrace.

"Don't tell me you went to California without me!?" She reached for his right hand, forgetting it wasn't there. Roy merely smirked and grabbed her right with his left.

They ran laughing, hand in hand, back through the rain, shoes splashing through puddles until both of them were soaked.

"Coffee?" she proposed as soon as they were both inside. "Let's be honest, neither of us are going to sleep tonight!"

Roy caught her off-guard by leaning in for a kiss, but the last thing she was going to do was complain. She reached up to his rain-soaked hair, deepening it until she couldn't hold her breath any longer.

"First things first," she breathed against his chest.

Roy laughed. "Well, if you don't have anything better to do."

…

"So," Thea propped herself up on her elbows beside him, their arms touching under her fluffy comforter, "did you meet anyone nice in California?"

"I wasn't in California, Thea, I was in Vegas," he grinned, leaning over on his side to look at her.

"Wow, I never would have pegged you for a Vegas boy," she teased, dropping a kiss on his cheek.

"Well, I figured since Felicity was from there, it was the only place that might feel like it had some small connection to home," he shrugged, reaching up to brush a stray hair away from her face. A hint of a frown pulled at his lips. "Stupid, I know."

Thea looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. "Felicity said you stopped answering your satellite phone," she mentioned softly. "We would have tried to find you, but that's kind of the downside of having an _untraceable_ phone."

"What did you think happened?" He lowered his voice even further.

Thea leaned in closer to him, laying her head back on the pillow. "We assumed the worst," she whispered. "What if you were really in trouble?"

A mixture of emotions crossed his face, but his gaze remained on her. "I was," he whispered softly.

"Are you okay now?"

He didn't answer right away. He shifted instead so he was sitting up a bit more, curling an arm around her shoulders. "Tell me about you first," he asked, eyebrows creasing in concern. "You were in the hospital again."

"Ah," she sighed, sitting up as well. "I have spent almost a year of my life in three separate comas. I'll be thrilled if I make it to twenty-five."

"I'm glad you woke up." He traced the edge of her jaw lightly with one finger.

Thea turned her head slightly up at him. "Speaking of which…that didn't have anything to do with _you_ , did it?"

"You had been unconscious for _months._ There was no way I was going to wake you up with a kiss, sleeping beauty," he teased.

"Yeah, I don't blame you. My mouth has NEVER felt so gross," she crinkled up her nose in disgust at the memory. "But the last thing I remember before I came to…I was dreaming of you." She caressed his chin.

"Did I have a beard in that dream, too?"

"You're not answering my question." Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him.

"I couldn't stay away," he finally confessed, with a smile. "I had to know if Oliver had—" his voice caught in his throat.

"—pulled the plug?"

Roy nodded.

"I'm frankly surprised that he didn't," she answered softly. "Given the chances I had, he probably should've."

"You know, I never thought I would say this," Roy took her hand tenderly in his, "but I am so glad Oliver is such a stubborn, pain-in-the-ass overprotective brother."

Thea laughed and closed her eyes. "Since it has saved my life at least every one of those three times, I would have to agree with you."

"You know, I probably should have asked this long before I got in your nice, clean sheets, but—can I use your shower?"

"For a hobo, you don't smell half as bad as I expected," she ruffled his hair, laughing. "But you go ahead. I'll get the coffee started."

…

 _Two Days Later…_

Agent Watson stood in her place beside the CIA's prosecution against Oliver Queen, on the exact court date originally intended, just as she had always meant to.

She had to admit, the offer Harper had made was almost tempting. However, there was little she could do with him that she couldn't do just as well without. Already, the word was out that Roy Harper was alive and in Star City, along with former ARGUS prisoner Cayden James. She had been able to arrange special orders for either of them to be shot on sight.

It was only a matter of time before she'd have all three of them: Queen, Harper, and James, locked away for good. Better yet, John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, and Dinah Drake would undoubtedly soon follow. Her eyes darted to the muscular young man with the glasses and afro who was seen so frequently near Smoak, Drake, or Ramirez. Although she had no evidence against him as of yet…

Covertly, she typed a message to her team on her phone underneath the desk. They needed to look into Curtis Holt.

Settling back in her seat, she turned to the witness currently taking the stand—the hotshot, scar-covered, jumpy form of Rene Ramirez.

He would be the only member of Team Arrow to receive pardon for his crimes.

Or at least, that's what he'd been led to believe. Maybe he wouldn't be imprisoned, but there was no chance if he dared put on the Wild Dog mask again that her security wouldn't spot him.

She figured if he wanted to make a reform, this was the time. But more than likely, he'd eventually end up behind bars like everyone else.

These vigilantes were ruthless.

Mayor Queen was calm, almost impassive, as he sat in his designated spot waiting to be tried. Despite the enormity of what he had to lose today, he refused to display so much as a hint of nervousness. He certainly knew how to conduct himself with dignity when the occasion called for it. Ironic, considering his history of utterly un-dignified public conduct in his not-so-youthful-youth.

An audience of friends, family, and politically-involved citizens held its collective breath for the first witness. Behind her, and just to her left, Agent Watson could see Felicity Smoak, along with Thea Queen and Oliver's boy William, tensing up in their reserved row.

Ramirez stepped forward, eyeing various members of the audience as though sweeping the room for threats—or targets. Agent Watson thought he had never looked more like a vigilante's associate as in that moment.

"I have a confession to make," he began. "I very nearly came in this court with the intention to falsely testify against my friend, and my Mayor; a man who I hold in the highest respect."

Agent Watson's mouth fell open.

"Agent Watson came to me with so-called 'evidence' that Oliver Queen was the Green Arrow…"

No. NO!

"Objection!" the CIA lawyer beside her leaped to her feet, her face red as she spat out the exact words Agent Watson was dying to say herself. "Witness is changing his testimony from what he originally confessed in a video recorded by the CIA!"

Ramirez raised an eyebrow, turning to the judge with an irritated expression. "Your Honor, if I could continue my story without being interrupted—?"

The judge sighed. "If the previous testimony was recorded, the prosecution will be invited to produce this evidence after the witness has completed his live testimony."

Watson shot a glance in the Mayor's direction. She could've sworn there was a hint of surprise on his otherwise rigid face. Right now, all that was left for her to do now was sit and listen as every word out of Ramirez' mouth gave her a metaphorical slap in the face.

"Agent Watson came to me with her evidence against the Mayor," he continued, "and not-so-subtly informed me that my association with the Mayor, which may I add, did not even begin until I connected with Officer Lance, coupled with my history of being unable to properly care for my daughter—" his voice softened, "—automatically made me a primary suspect as an associate of the Green Arrow. A _vigilante_." He shook his head from side to side, as though the word itself was utterly distasteful to him. "Now, I don't know how I feel about all this vigilante stuff. I follow it in the news 'cause it's interesting, so I know some things, as long as they're from the press, or rumors, you know? The police force I work with on a regular basis, not to mention Mr. Queen's private security, have a ton of rumors, very few of which could possibly be true but I hear things, you know? And then comes Agent Watson, telling me I must be guilty of something that could get my daughter taken away from me for good, right after I just got her back—and get this: she offers me full amnesty if I confess to those very crimes and testify against my Mayor."

Queen's lawyer was having a heyday over in her little corner; she and Officer Lance both scribbling frantic messages back and forth to each other. Agent Watson was glad she didn't have to read any of them. By this point, her blood was boiling.

Ramirez looked downward as though ashamed. "I've done some things I'm not proud of," he admitted. "But this one has got to be near the top, at least. The minute she said that, I started spouting whatever cohesive-sounding lie popped into my head. I turned against the Mayor completely, and I turned against myself like an idiot, thinking it would help me in the long run. I may work in a government office, but if you mention my daughter to me—essentially _threaten_ me with her—everything I know about law and politics goes straight to the back of my mind and instinct takes over. I know that's no excuse, and I can only hope and pray it gets me out of hot water better than Agent Watson's amnesty offer would have. Your Honor, for the past few weeks I've been comforting myself with the thought that maybe, I was missing something I'd never dreamed of and somehow, Oliver Queen was in fact the Green Arrow. But all that changed the other night. Like I said, I've been watching the news for quite some time. And as Agent Watson would, I'm sure, be happy to inform you herself since she's already placed a warrant out for him, the man originally sentenced for his actions as the Arrow, Roy Harper, is alive and escaped from prison and has been on the streets as the Green Arrow ever since his alleged death."

If it were possible for a courtroom to erupt like a volcano, it did so in that moment. Murmurs rose to such a feverish pitch that Judge Cameron couldn't seem to quiet everyone.

"What IS this?!" Watson exclaimed to the lawyer beside her. "We _cannot_ let this happen!"

"We won't," the lawyer beside her replied quickly, but the doubt was nevertheless etched into her face like a monogram. "We need to keep up the barrage of evidence. We'll win this yet—Ramirez was just the icing on the cake."

"He was our _guarantee!_ " Watson hissed in reply. She stole a look in Queen's direction one more time. The Mayor had paled considerably and was staring into empty space, apparently deep in thought.

That served to only further confirm her assumptions: Harper had only been a martyr for the cause. He wasn't the real Green Arrow, or the Arrow, and never had been. A dangerous vigilante in his own right, perhaps, but not the man who had started it all.

If only facial expressions could be quantified somehow as evidence. Her mind briefly drifted to the thought of a lie detector test, and she swore in her head, remembering how Queen had actually managed to PASS one of those.

There was something she was missing, and she just couldn't find it no matter how deeply she dug!

Ramirez descended from his box upon prompting from the defending lawyer, Judge Cameron finally banged her gavel hard enough that silence began to descend, and the trial continued, with Agent Watson fuming in her chair.


	3. Chapter 3

**Last chapter! I apologize it's been so long, Y'all. I hope you enjoy the finale. Thank you as always for your awesome readership! ~Marina**

 **Roy's Vindication: Chapter 3**

…

 _Two days earlier, at Rene's apartment…_

"I know you don't want to lose your daughter," Roy told Rene. The way he was keeping a tight hold around Thea's shoulders told him Oliver's former protégé knew exactly what that feeling was like. "But Watson has blown your cover already. You can either live under her thumb, doing whatever she asks whenever she asks it, or you can fight back, and help us fight for Oliver at the same time."

"Us?" Thea raised an interested brow.

Roy turned to her with a half-smile. "You have to keep Oliver from freaking out on us once he finds out I'm back."

She gave him a skeptical look. "That depends on just how freaked out you're planning to get him."

Roy got a funny smirk on his face. "I've been paying Agent Watson a few visits," he explained. Thea and Rene looked at him like he must be crazy. "And, I got Cisco to help me with another suit that looked just like Oliver's. I've been trying to convince her that Oliver isn't the Green Arrow, but she doesn't care. She'd just as soon have both of us behind bars. Which works in our favor, because why would the public care about arresting two Green Arrows?"

He turned to Rene again.

"If you can convince the jury you were coerced into being a witness, Watson becomes the new bad guy."

"But so do you," Thea spoke up, a hard edge to her tone.

Roy faced her guiltily. "I'm going to make sure she doesn't catch me."

"But she will know you are alive," she insisted. "The only thing keeping you safe right now is that everyone thinks you're dead! And Noah Kuttler still found you even then."

"She's going to need my help to catch Cayden James. And when Oliver resumes being the Green Arrow, I can skip town safely because everyone will think I'm him."

"How can you do this?" Rene interrupted, a deep frown on his face. "You're seriously giving up your whole life? We're not gonna try to find another way?"

"This is the safest way there is," Roy shrugged.

"Thea? You love him, don't you? You guys can't seriously be okay with this?"

Thea didn't meet his gaze, remaining still where she'd laid her head against Roy's shoulder.

Guilt filled Rene's chest as he considered what they were giving up. He had never sworn loyalty to Oliver Queen; heck, he'd been adamant about refusing to join him from the start. But he had sworn his own oath to protect the city. And if he could no longer do it and keep his daughter at the same time, Oliver HAD to be freed.

It was a risk. But not taking it would mean an end to everything holding the city together by the strings.

He faced the couple across from him and met their waiting eyes with determined ones of his own.

"I'll do it."

…

Samandra Watson was indicted for withholding evidence from the case against Roy Harper; namely, the sparkling selfie he'd graciously taken with her phone. She and her legal team scrambled for every reason they could think of to keep Oliver in custody, but in the end, his team one by one disproved her accusations and he was released to go home.

Half the city now convinced he was their leather-clad hero, his office ratings went up like never before.

A few days later, Roy made one last appearance as he videoed himself hand-delivering Cayden James to SCPD's doorstep, but when officers arrived to make the arrest official, he had long since fled the scene.

The team took some much-needed rest in the basement of the Green Arrow lair, even with the absence of Rene, Curtis, and Dinah.

Those three would be missed, but Oliver was reluctantly coming to accept that they had never asked for a mentor. They had their own ideas on how to make Star City safer…and even if the lack of communication between the two groups caused some safety concerns, Felicity convinced him they'd be more likely to pull together in a real emergency if he let them alone for now.

This team; the one gathered in the basement together now, were frankly the only ones who would always be more than teammates.

Roy, Thea, John, and Felicity. They were his family, more than his friends. He didn't need any more than that right now.

But that made it even harder to admit what none of them cared to mention for as long as possible.

They couldn't stay this way.

Thea pulled her lover away from the rest of the group as their social banter began to die down, settling herself on his lap in a secluded corner of the lair.

They sat there for a while, drinking in the presence of the other, wrapped up in each other's arms.

Idly, she stroked his hair with her manicured fingernails as she broke the silence at last. "The last couple of times you've left, I didn't come with you because there was so much going on here—I was trying to figure out who I was, and then I was dying, and—"

Roy met her gaze with such a tentative amount of hope it broke her heart. He'd already resigned himself to the fact that he'd be leaving again this time, without her. As such his love for her had always been.

She summoned all her courage to continue. "This time, ever since I woke up and started thinking about you more, I can't stop thinking that we were meant to be together, whatever that meant our lives would look like or where we would go." She swallowed a heavy lump in her throat. "Do you ever feel the same way?"

"I could never pressure you into something that would ruin your life here, Thea. You know I only want what's best for you." His grip around her waist tightened sharply, however, giving away his true feelings as he almost unconsciously pressed his forehead close to hers.

"All I know is that if you leave again, I don't want you to go without me," she breathed against his cheek. "I know exactly what I'd be giving up to be with you. My brother, my hometown, my friends that are here, the freedom to go wherever I want and throw around my name to get my way with things. I know running and hiding is not glamorous. I hate that you have to live like this. But I'd rather live it with you than any other kind of life without you."

Thea reached forward and took his hands, trying to read the emotions in his eyes.

"Please tell me you won't leave me here again?"

His blue eyes gazed up into hers, wide and serious. "I won't," he promised.

She laid her head on his shoulder and they held each other like that for a long time.

…

"Goodbye, William." Thea's chin wobbled as she pressed a talisman into his hand. "Keep this safe for me. It's a symbol of reconnecting. I'll see you again."

William struggled to keep up a brave face as he embraced her tightly. "Goodbye, Aunt Thea."

"Thanks for being the greatest nephew ever," she smiled tearfully. "I love you, buddy."

She turned to Roy, having already said her goodbyes to the others. As they walked hand in hand toward the car, Thea's steps seemed to freeze, and she turned and ran back into her brother's arms.

A stream of tears she wasn't expecting at all broke loose. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I just hate to lose you again, after I've lost you so many times!"

Oliver held her tightly, as Roy stood and waited, she knew, desperately hoping she wasn't about to change her mind and stay.

"Why is life like this?" she stuttered, hating that she was doing this in front of Roy. Her brother would understand it wasn't anyone's fault…hopefully Roy would too. "Why do I have to choose between you and him? Why can't we just all be together?"

It had been a long time since she'd just fallen apart in front of him, like a little girl again. So long since she'd allowed herself to just be the baby sister.

"I don't know, and it's not fair at all, Thea," he murmured comfortingly in her ear. "You shouldn't have to choose. But it's not between me and him, you know? This is about what's right for you. Roy and I…we both want only what's best for you. That's what you need to decide."

She let herself down from his neck and wiped her eyes, sniffling. Felicity handed her a tissue, which she gratefully accepted. "I've spent my whole life in Star City," she acknowledged. "Well, except for Corto Maltese, but you know how that went." Sniffling, she continued. "I've been playing it safe, letting my wings grow out. I think it's time to go see what I can be now that I've grown them all the way."

It was only then that tears unexpectedly spilled from Oliver's eyes. "That's my baby sis," he nodded, hugging her tightly against his chest.

When he let her go, Thea wiped the last few tears from her face, pocketing the handkerchief. She walked forward and stood in front of the man she loved more than anyone. "Let's go somewhere just for us."

…

The End


End file.
